1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates generally to maintaining a stock of products on store shelf. In particular, examples of the present invention are related to techniques for detecting when a store shelf has become empty.
2. Background
Retail stores can extend across thousands of square feet and offer many thousands of distinct products. Attempts can be made to conduct some restocking during peak sales hours as products are removed from shelves. Large-scale restocking can be accomplished during hours of relatively low customer traffic, such as after midnight. Despite regular restocking schedules, store shelves can become fully depleted of one or more products resulting in a decrease in customer satisfaction. When this occurs, it is possible that a consumer looking for a depleted product will end shopping in order to search for that product at another retail store. In addition, it is possible that the consumer will forego making any purchases based on dissatisfaction over the depleted product.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding components throughout the several views of the drawings. Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present disclosure.